Russell Berman

How Democrats Backed Themselves Into a Shutdown Democrats surrendered a spending fight in March—and it all but foretold the October shutdown.

“Every Democrat, including the squishes, needs to understand that this president is unpopular, becoming more unpopular by the day, and is pushing wildly unpopular proposals. This is not some 800-pound gorilla,” @jamespmanley.bsky.social tells @russellberman.bsky.social.

How a Government Shutdown Will Impact California | KQED We talk about the stakes of a government shutdown and what one could mean for California.

🎙️ ON AIR:

We're speaking with @sarahdwire.bsky.social, @russellberman.bsky.social, KQED's Adhiti Bandlamudi and Politico's Nicholas Wu about what's at stake if the government shuts down and how it could impact California.

❓What are your questions?

📻 Listen:

The Blue State That’s Now a Bellwether New Jersey is no one’s idea of a swing state. Or is it?

New Jersey is no one's idea of a swing state. But it's been moving rightward the past few years, and its governor's race in November has become a must-win for Democrats. My look at the clash between Mikie Sherrill and Jack Ciattarelli: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The Blue State That’s Now a Bellwether New Jersey is no one’s idea of a swing state. Or is it?

“New Jersey is no one’s idea of a swing state,” @russellberman.bsky.social writes. This year, however, operatives in both parties believe New Jersey is an accurate barometer of how voters are reacting to the first year of Trump’s return tour in the White House:

What If This Is a Turning Point? Charlie Kirk’s closest allies will help determine whether the next few weeks bring confrontation, de-escalation, or something in between.

Charlie Kirk’s allies are calling his murder a “turning point,” @elainegodfrey.bsky.social and @russellberman.bsky.social write. Defining the phrase may determine “whether the next few weeks bring confrontation, de-escalation, or something in between”:

The Democrats’ Biggest Senate Recruits Have One Thing in Common They’re old.

Democrats are relying on a familiar strategy for key 2026 Senate races: old candidates. @russellberman.bsky.social on why the party thinks it’s the best option:

How Democrats Tied Their Own Hands on Redistricting Their threat to match Republican gerrymandering could be difficult to fulfill.

When it comes to matching Republican gerrymandering, Democrats’ hands are largely tied—and the party itself provided the rope, Russell Berman argues.

The Contortions of Josh Hawley Why the Missouri senator is trying to reverse Medicaid cuts he voted for

While Missouri health advocates hoped Hawley might hold the line, former Sen. John Danforth—a mentor-turned-critic—told me his vote was never in doubt: “It would just be impossible to be a Republican in good standing in this era & vote against it." www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The Contortions of Josh Hawley Why the Missouri senator is trying to reverse Medicaid cuts he voted for

Hawley's Medicaid contortions were the starkest illustration of how a GOP, under pressure from Trump, ended up slashing a core safety-net program more deeply than most expected—and more than many of them wanted, Trump possibly included www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The Contortions of Josh Hawley Why the Missouri senator is trying to reverse Medicaid cuts he voted for

“I did believe that he was genuine." I spoke with health-care advocates in Missouri about Sen. Josh Hawley's Medicaid journey—warning the GOP against cuts, voting for the bill that contained them, then immediately trying to reverse them www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The Red State Where Republicans Aren’t Afraid of Trump Some of the last remaining GOP holdouts hail from the same state.

Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, and Thomas Massie are some of the last remaining elected Republicans willing to criticize and vote against Trump. Their stands have left the president's diehard supporters in Kentucky feeling oddly unrepresented in DC: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The Red State Where Republicans Aren’t Afraid of Trump Some of the last remaining GOP holdouts hail from the same state.

Kentucky voted for Trump last year by more than 30 points, but it has become an unlikely hotbed of Republican resistance in his second term. I went there to find out what GOP voters think of their rebelling representatives: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The New Danger in Trump’s Washington: Honoring Federal Employees Can recognition for outstanding work suddenly be a bad thing?

To guard against reprisal from the Trump administration, most honorees at this year's Sammies did not take the stage or deliver an acceptance speech. It was a startling sign of how much fear pervades the federal workforce right now: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The New Danger in Trump’s Washington: Honoring Federal Employees Can recognition for outstanding work suddenly be a bad thing?

Is it now risky for a federal employee to accept an award in Trump's Washington? My dispatch from the Sammies, known as the Oscars for government, which were different this year: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

A Decade of Golden-Escalator Politics It was here that Donald Trump descended into American politics.

@russellberman.bsky.social: “What’s most striking about candidate Trump of June 2015 is how similar he is to President Trump of June 2025. To the pride of his supporters and the chagrin of his opponents, he has changed American politics more in the past decade than it has changed him.”

America’s Most Famous Escalator, a Decade Later It was here that Donald Trump descended into American politics.

Looking back on Trump's political debut, what's clear to both his supporters and critics is this: He has changed American politics over the past decade more than it has changed him www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

America’s Most Famous Escalator, a Decade Later It was here that Donald Trump descended into American politics.

To mark the 10th anniversary of Donald Trump's descent down the golden escalator, I revisited Trump Tower—and the speech that launched his first presidential campaign: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

America’s Most Famous Escalator, a Decade Later It was here that Donald Trump descended into American politics.

Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign a decade ago today. @russellberman.bsky.social was there, and recently took a trip back to the escalator that started it all.

This is an important piece.

The Real Problem With the Democrats’ Ground Game Democratic organizers are hesitant to admit when get-out-the-vote efforts don’t work. One group is trying to change that.

Vote Forward will release a study today disclosing that a major part of its letter-writing program in 2024 failed to boost turnout. Such admissions are rare. “We’ve got to actually be honest about both what works & what doesn’t work,”
Yasmin Radjy told me: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The Real Problem With the Democrats’ Ground Game Democratic organizers are hesitant to admit when get-out-the-vote efforts don’t work. One group is trying to change that.

“We have a people-pleasing problem in our party." Democratic organizers are hesitant to admit when get-out-the-vote efforts don’t work. One group is trying to change that. My new piece:
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

How Trump’s Massive, Wide Ranging Budget Bill Could Affect You | KQED We talk with reporters about what’s in the 1000-plus page budget bill and its political implications.

🎙️ ON AIR:

We're speaking with @cgrisales.bsky.social‬ and @russellberman.bsky.social about what’s in President Trump's 1000-plus page budget bill and its political implications.

❓ What are your questions about the Republican budget bill?

📻 Listen:

The Big, Beautiful Republican Shrug Republicans routinely criticized Democrats for rushing bills through Congress. Now that they’re in power, they don’t seem to mind.

“Rather than avoid the transgressions they’ve alleged Democrats have committed, Republicans have instead used them as license to go even further,” @russellberman.bsky.social writes:

Republicans Still Can’t Say No to Trump The GOP has mounted little resistance to the president. His “big, beautiful bill” was another test.

Rep. Tim Burchett started this week with a warning for GOP leaders: Conservatives, he told me, might tank the 'big, beautiful bill' if forced to bend too much. But as is so often the case, Burchett & his allies found they could not say no to Trump. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

House hardliners have said no to Speaker Mike Johnson, but can they say no to Trump? They haven’t yet. My new piece on the GOP’s struggle to pass the president’s “big, beautiful bill”: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

I spoke with @gregsargent.bsky.social about our report on Trump's desire to accept a plane from Qatar to use as Air Force One and the rare Republican mini-rebellion against it: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Trump Rages Over Qatar Jet Fiasco as GOP Angst Worsens: “Humiliating” As Trump seethes over criticism of his acceptance of a luxury jet from Qatar, a journalist who’s closely tracking GOP reactions explains why this is a growing problem for him—and what may come next.

Important point from @russellberman.bsky.social: Republicans are mostly criticizing Trump over the Qatar jet fiasco by focusing on security concerns as a way to avoid pointing out how profoundly corrupt it is.

On the pod, we discuss why this scandal is getting worse:
newrepublic.com/article/1953...

The MAGA-World Rift Over Trump’s Qatari Jet Some of the president’s biggest allies are panning his plan to accept the luxury aircraft.

“In a rare moment of defiance, some of the loudest cries of protest about the possible gift are coming from some of Trump’s staunchest allies,” @jonlemire.bsky.social and @russellberman.bsky.social write.

Retirement Is the New Resistance The Democrats waging war on their gerontocracy

“I think this is an opportunity for full change across the Democratic Party,” says @amandalitman.bsky.social. “Part of the way we change people’s opinion about the Democratic Party is to change the people who run as Democrats.”

Retirement Is the New Resistance The Democrats waging war on their gerontocracy

Constituents have thanked Sen. Tina Smith for setting an example by retiring after less than a decade in office. She welcomes the gratitude, but it underscores a troubling dynamic for her party: Many Democrats can’t wait for their leaders to step aside. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...